Bloomberg: Soda ban is good for New York, ‘confident’ city will win appeal

The New York City Board of Health was not overstepping its authority with the soda ban overturned by a New York Supreme Court judge today, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a news conference.

The ban on sugary drinks over 16 ounces was supposed to go into effect on Tuesday, but New York Supreme Court Judge Milton Tingling said in today’s decision the law is ”fraught with arbitrary and capricious consequences.”

Tingling added that the elected City Council, not the mayor-appointed Board of Health, has the authority to make such a law.

But Bloomberg framed the issue as a moral obligation.

“I’m trying to do what’s right,” he said. “I’m trying to defend my children, and you, and do what’s right.”